Hermione Granger and the Chamber of Secrets
by Ginnger9412
Summary: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets told from Hermione's perspective with my own twist!
1. Chapter 1: The Granger's

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or the Harry Potter universe in any way.**

 **A/N: This story will follow the original story as much as possible. This story is Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets told from Hermione'a perspective. I'm planning on writing the whole story and eventually writing the entire series from Hermione's perspective. Lot's of big plans and I'm going to try and stick to it as much as possible. I'm super excited about this! Without further ado...chapter 1 of Hermione Granger and the Chamber of Secrets!**

 _ **Chapter 1: The Granger's**_

"I don't know what I could've done wrong, Mum. He hasn't answered any of my letters. I know last year could've gone better, but I thought I had actually made friends at that school. I don't know if I can go back and face Harry being angry with me when I don't even know what on Earth I've done to deserve this." Hermione Granger threw her hands up exasperatedly as she angrily vented to her mum about Harry Potter. They were setting their dining room table for dinner while Mr. Granger finished cooking.

"Now, Honey, I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation as to why he hasn't written you back. Maybe he just needed some time to deal with everything that happened last year. I'm sure he'll come to you when he's ready. What about your other friend?" Mrs. Granger tried to reason with her daughter, "What was his name? Ronald?"

Hope filled Hermione as she thought about her other friend Ronald Weasley. She still didn't think he liked her very much, so she hadn't tried writing him, but maybe he would give her the answers that she needed. "That's an excellent idea, Mum. Do you think I could go write him before dinner's ready?"

"Of course, Sweetie. Just don't take too long, okay? Your father said there are about ten minutes left on the chicken. Please freshen up while you're up there, too," Mrs. Granger gave her daughter a hug before she ran up the stairs to write her letter to Ron.

Ron,

I'm not sure if I did anything wrong to you and Harry, but if I did, then I sincerely apologize. I've never really had friends before so sometimes I might do things to people without realizing it. I know last year was tough, but I thought we were all friends now. If I did something to you and Harry, then could you please tell me so I can stop going over every little thing that I could've possibly done in my head. It's driving me mad. Honestly, it's a bit immature of Harry to not respond to any of my letters. I didn't do anything bad enough to deserve that. I'm sure it's nothing that we can't work out so please write me back as soon as you get this so I can know what's going on. Thanks.

Hermione

Hermione and her parents sat to dinner that night and tucked into all the delicious food on the table made by Mr. Granger. The table held chicken breasts, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, and for dessert Mrs. Granger made a fresh apple pie.

"Everything looks great dad! Worrying about all of this has me starved. Thank you both for listening. I feel better after writing to Ron. I just hope he writes me back," Hermione looked down and tried not to cry thinking about losing her two only friends.

"Hey kiddo, keep that chin up, buttercup," Mr. Granger reassured her. "If those boys are anything like you said they are then they wouldn't just abandon you like that. Give Ron a chance to explain and try not to jump to conclusions in the meantime. Everything will work out in the end, you'll see."

"Thanks, Dad. I hope so. It means a lot to me that you two are so supportive of me. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Of course, Sweetie, you know we will be there for you no matter what," Mrs. Granger smiled. "Now finish eating, and we can watch your favorite film while we eat dessert."

Hours later Hermione awakens in her bed to a tap on her window. Her eyes slowly flutter open, and her eyes adjust to the dark. Looking over at her clock on her nightstand that reads '4:23 am' she turns over to face her window where she sees amber eyes staring back at her. Swinging her legs off the side of the bed and forcing her feet into her slippers she sleepily shuffles over to the window and opens the window to let the owl in carrying a letter addressed to her. Hope seeps into her veins from her very core. She tries to tame the fire within her reminding herself that it could still contain bad news. Deciding to handle it like ripping off a Band-Aid she quickly tears the envelope open and right away reads the contents.

Hermione,

Honestly, I've been wondering the same thing. Harry hasn't returned any of my owls either. I was angry with him, and I thought maybe I had done something, or maybe one of my stupid brothers said something embarrassing, and it turned him away from him. I mean I understood at first, but after about a month without a reply, I started questioning everything. Maybe it's got nothing to do with us. Maybe Harry has some things he needs to sort through. I'll talk to my brothers and see if they can help me see if everything is alright with him. I'll let you know as soon as I find out more. I'm anxious, but I'm glad it wasn't something that my brothers or I did. Don't beat yourself up about it either, okay? I'm not mad at you, and you didn't do anything wrong. I'm also really sorry about those things I said to you last year. I'm thrilled to call you my friend, Hermione.

Ron

Hermione read Ron's letter several times before falling asleep still holding the letter close to her heart. She awoke the next morning with Ron's letter lying next to her bed on the floor. Picking up the letter, she raced down the stairs and thrust it into her father's face.

"Look, Dad! He wrote back, and he's not mad! He said Harry hadn't written to him either. I'm worried about him now, though. Something might be wrong with him. That uncle and aunt of his are absolutely dreadful. There's no telling what they could've done to him."

Mr. Granger set down the coffee that was at his lips about to take a sip and folded his newspaper. "Woah, slow down there pumpkin. What happened to Harry?"

"We don't know yet I was just saying that anything is possible with where he's staying. Ron said he was going to go check up on him and see if everything is okay. Oh, Dad, I hope nothing bad happened to him. Ron said he's not mad at me though and he said he's pleased to call me a friend. I'm happy I got it all sorted. I feel loads better now!"

"Oh Honey, that's great! I'm glad it all worked out. See I told you there was nothing to worry about. What's not to love about that adorable face!" Mrs. Granger chimed in from the kitchen where she was washing the dishes from breakfast. "I left some breakfast for you on the table. I was just about to put it away for later. I wasn't sure how much longer you were going to be sleeping."

Hermione rolled her eyes but thanked her mum for the food. She explained how Ron's owl woke her up in the middle of the night, so she was still pretty tired. After eating, Hermione went back up to take a nap. She set her letter on her nightstand next to her bed and strolled exhaustedly across the room to her window and closed the curtain. Now that it was a little less bright maybe the brunette would be able to fall asleep. She lazily climbed into her bed and pulled the cover over her and settled in for her nap. Right as she dozed off, the girl heard a tap on her window. She ignored it writing it off as just a branch hitting the window from the wind outside until she heard it again and had no choice but to face whatever it was. She grumbled as she sat up and pulled the covers off of her. Standing up and putting her slippers on to once again head over to the window and opening her curtains to see an owl perched outside of her window. Another letter from Ron already? Did he already find out about Harry? Well, only one way to know. She tore open the envelope and read its contents.

Hermione,

You're never going to believe this. Well, maybe you will, considering who the Dursley's are. They had Harry locked in his room with bars on his window! Fred, George and I went to the Dursley's house last night since I couldn't wait any longer. That's why my owl came so late last night. Sorry about that by the way. Anyway, we borrowed my dad's enchanted flying car and broke the bars off. The Dursley's caught us just before Harry escaped out the window and we nearly made it. Luckily, we were able to pull him out of his uncle's hands. That's not all, though. Harry said they put the bars on his window because a house elf by the name of Dobby appeared in his room and was making all sorts of noise while an important meeting was taking place downstairs. Dobby came to warn Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. Can you believe that? I wonder what could be so bad now that a house elf would have to seek him out and say all those things to him. The whole thing is just bizarre. Harry said Dobby had been interfering with Harry's mail and that's why he hasn't been writing back to us. He never even got out letters. Anyway, Harry is at the Burrow now, so he's safe away from those lunatics. Our Hogwarts letters should be coming any day now, so I'll see you soon when we go to Diagon Alley for school shopping. Take care and hope all is well.

Ron

The next few days dragged on as Hermione waited rather impatiently for her Hogwarts letter to come. When it finally arrived, Hermione and her parents made plans to go to Diagon Alley the next day. Hermione woke up early that morning feeling particularly giddy as she danced around her room getting ready for the big day ahead. Today Hermione was going to see her friends that she hadn't seen all summer and the brunette was finally able to step back into the magical world. Now that the girl had a taste of magic she could hardly stand to be away for too long. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted up to her room, but Hermione was too excited to be hungry. The girl ran down the stairs and quickly threw greetings at her parents before grabbing a piece of toast.

"Aren't you going to eat breakfast, Darling? We won't be home for hours, and I don't want you to be out on an empty stomach," her mother expressed her worry as she tried to push more food in her direction.

"I'm not particularly hungry right now. I'm way too excited to wait anymore. I'd rather just go now if we could, Mum."

"Alright, Dear, grab your school list, and I'll tell your father that we're ready to go. I swear that man is worse than most women I know," they chuckled and set forth to do the last-minute things they had to do before they left. When it was time to go, they all climbed into the car and drove to The Leaky Cauldron, the entrance to Diagon Alley.

 **A/N: Please let me know what you thought about this first chapter! I don't have very much practice writing stories like this so any errors you might find feel free to let me know! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Diagon Alley

**A/N: If you've made it this far, then thank you so much, I love you! Hope you're having as much fun reading it as I am writing it!**

 **Disclaimer: I realize a lot of this is very similar to the actual book, but that's kind of my intention. I want it to follow the books closely, but I change a few things here and there. As I progress through the story, I will make it a lot more my own. I just think these beginning parts are crucial for setting up the storyline. Anyway, I don't own the rights to Harry Potter, its characters or the storyline. The only things I own are the parts of the story you don't recognize.**

 _ **Chapter 2: Diagon Alley**_

Mr. Granger parked the car across the street, and everybody shuffled out of the car. The entered The Leaky Cauldron and headed straight to the back where they opened the brick wall separating Muggle London from the magical world entirely hidden from the rest of the world. The bricks opened up to reveal Diagon Alley - the place where students of Hogwarts can go to get school supplies or Quidditch equipment and witches and wizards can find various potion ingredients from the Apothecary or new robes for any occasion. Today they were on their way to buy school supplies for the upcoming year. It was Hermione's second year at Hogwarts, and she had to admit after her first year she was a bit nervous. Surely there wouldn't be anything as bad as what happened last year. During her first year, she helped Harry face He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named alongside Ron. The three had to decipher riddles to move through to the end where Harry met with Professor Quirrell who was a host for Lord Voldemort himself. With the power of the Mirror of Erised granting Harry access to the Philosopher's Stone Harry was able to defeat the host, but unfortunately Voldemort was able to leave the host body and hasn't been seen since. Hermione was hoping that nothing like that would happen this year. She wasn't sure if she would be able to handle something like that again. Ron's letter popped into her head as she thought about what he said about the house elf and how he warned Harry not to go back to Hogwarts. Surely it couldn't have anything to do with that, right?

Hermione pulled out her Hogwarts letter to figure out what she needed first for her second year at Hogwarts.

Hermione Granger,

Welcome back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Enclosed is a list of books and supplies you will need for your second year. Students are advised to bring any extra supplies that might not be listed below. Also, it must be reiterated that students are not allowed beyond the perimeters of Hogwarts grounds including but not limited to the Forbidden Forest as well as Hogsmeade. If you have any further questions, feel free to owl either Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall.

Second-year students will require:

The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wandering with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Hermione couldn't believe that they were required to buy almost every single one of Lockhart's books. She had read all about him and was completely infatuated. What girl wasn't though? He was the epitome of handsome, and he had the smarts to go with it. Everybody knew about the adventures he had been on as he was quite famous for them. She couldn't wait to start reading his books.

Before they could do anything else, they had to stop in Gringotts Wizard Bank to transfer their muggle money into wizard money. They walked up the steps and into the massive white marble building. Tall counters lined either side all the way down. Behind the counters stood little goblins ready to help any witch or wizard with anything they might need in the bank. Hermione walked up to the closest goblin that wasn't already helping someone.

"Hello, I would like to transfer muggle money into wizard money, please."

"Name," said the goblin at the counter.

"Hermione Granger."

"How much would you like to transfer?"

"Sixty pounds, please."

"Sixty pounds will come out to nineteen Galleons, fifteen Sickles, and fourteen Knuts, is that what you wish to do?

"Yes, please, that should be plenty," Hermione handed over the money and collected the transfer money.

She headed out of the bank in search of her friends when she spotted Harry walking over with Hagrid. He appears to have been through a pretty rough time. He's covered in what seems to be some sort of soot, and his glasses are broken.

"Harry! Hagrid! It's so good to see you both! Harry, why are you not with the Weasley's? Where's Ron?" She asked after she looked around and didn't see anybody else with him.

"Long story I'll tell you later. Hagrid found me after I had gotten lost in Knockturn Alley. If he hadn't have come along when he did, then I don't know what would've happened to me," Harry briefly explained.

"Right dodgy place, that is. That there is where them dark witches an' wizards go ter get bad things they can't find in Diagon Alley. Good ter see yeh, Hermione," Hagrid said.

"Lucky you came along when you did then, Hagrid. If you're not with the Weasley's, Harry, then where are they?" Just as she finished her question, she spotted Mr. Weasley, Ron, Percy, Fred, and George trying to make their way through the crowd towards them.

"Harry! Oh, thank goodness! We were all incredibly worried! I was hoping you had only gone one grate too far. Where did you land, anyway?" Mr. Weasley said as he tried to catch his breath. He noticed Harry's glasses were broken and had Harry hand them over so he could fix them.

"Knockturn Alley, I'm afraid," Hagrid said.

"Wicked!" The twins said in unison.

"Mum never lets us go there," Ron said with a hint of jealousy.

"I should ruddy well think not," said Hagrid. "That ain't no place for wizards such as yerselves."

Just then Mrs. Weasley arrived with Ginny, Ron's little sister, at her side. It was Ginny's first year at Hogwarts, and she couldn't be more excited. Although, it was hard to tell if the redhead was more excited about starting school or seeing Harry for the first time all summer. She couldn't stop talking about him, and it was no secret she fancied him.

"Harry, I'm so glad you're alright! You had us all so worried. Come now, let's go inside." They all filtered into Gringotts and got their necessary money. Once back outside Percy headed off to buy a new quill. Mr. Weasley insisted on taking the Granger's out to talk about muggle things - he was obsessed with all things muggle. He worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office at the Ministry of Magic. Mrs. Weasley still had some things she had to get for Ginny's first year. Fred and George went off to talk to their friend, Lee Jordan. That left Harry, Ron, and Hermione to walk around Diagon Alley until they were to meet up with the others at Flourish and Blotts in an hour. They wandered around the different shops and bought a few odds and ends before making their way to their meet up spot.

As they approached Flourish and Blotts, they noticed a huge crowd of people gathered outside the entrance all trying to shuffle their way into the book shop. Hermione noticed a banner across the top of the door.

GILDEROY LOCKHART

Will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

Today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

"Guys, look at this," she pointed to the banner.

"Well that explains a lot," Ron rolled his eyes. "Guy's a bit on the loony side if you ask me."

"Ron!" Hermione slapped him across the arm. "You're just jealous of everything that he's accomplished. If only you were half the man he is. He's perfect!" Hermione had a dreamy look on her face. Ron and Harry looked at each other as if silently communicating their thoughts on Hermione's odd behavior.

"Hermione, you barely know the guy! He could be a total fraud just getting on with his good looks and charm."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Hermione said in a way that left no room for further discussion on the matter. They made their way into the store and tried to find the others in the massive crowd of people. Hermione finally spotted them and led Harry and Ron through the sea of people.

"There you three are, good." Mrs. Weasley sounded slightly off. She kept fidgeting with her hair and her clothes. "We will be able to see him in a minute."

"Mum fancies Lockhart," Ron whispered to Harry and Hermione. "All summer she's been acting like a love-struck teenager. It's quite revolting."

"Ronald! Don't talk about your mother that way," Hermione scolded.

Gilderoy Lockhart stood from where he was signing his books. All around him there were copies of his book Magical Me. Right on the cover was a winking Lockhart with an enormous winning smile that could dazzle almost anyone. It seemed he was always wearing that smile. A smaller man carrying a big black camera came up behind Ron trying to get a good picture of Lockhart. "You there, out of the way. This is for the Daily Prophet."

"Big deal," Ron scoffed and rolled his eyes as he moved out of the way.

Lockhart heard him and looked around to find who said it. His eyes fell on Harry who was standing next to Ron.

"Why if it isn't Harry Potter!" said Lockhart walking towards him. "Young Harry only came in here to buy my new book 'Magical Me' but little did he know that he would leave here- "he handed Harry a stack of his books "-with my entire collection…free of charge!" He shook Harry's free hand and told Harry to smile for the camera. "A picture with both of us is bound to make the front page, Harry!"

Harry was so red in the face that you would think he had never been so humiliated in his life. Harry hated any kind of attention especially when it had to do with his fame. He scurried away from Lockhart as quickly as he could. He made his way back to where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron. He tipped his books into her cauldron and said, "Here you have these…I'll just buy my own." Harry had so much money left from his parents that he hadn't the slightest idea what to do with all of it.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" Harry turned around and saw Draco Malfoy walking down the steps from the second floor of the store. "Famous Harry Potter can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone! He didn't want all of that!" Ginny spoke up for the first time around Harry.

"Oh, Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" Draco sneered

"Now, now, Draco. We mustn't be making a fool of ourselves," Mr. Malfoy made his way over to his son. "Wouldn't want to be seen conversing with the less fortunate." Mr. Weasley walked over as he said this. "Ah, Arthur, we meet again."

"Lucius," he acknowledged.

"Busy time at the ministry, I hear," Mr. Weasley has been working overtime at the ministry with the number of raids they've had to handle. He had been trying to nail Lucius with something for years. "I hope they're paying you overtime." He picked up one of Ginny's books from her cauldron. It was a very worn and battered book that was barely being held together. "Guess not," he said as he tossed the book back into her cauldron. "What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

"We have a very different definition of what disgraces the name of wizard, Lucius." Mr. Weasley said challengingly.

"Clearly," Mr. Malfoy said with an air of arrogance. "Fraternizing with Muggles. As if you could sink no lower."

Mr. Weasley lunged at Lucius and pushed him into the bookcase behind him. The people around them went quiet as onlookers tried to find out what was going on. The shopkeeper frantically walked over to the two and tried to break up the fight. "I will have none of this in my shop! If you would like to act like wild animals, then you will have to take it outside!"

Mr. Weasley backed away, and Lucius pat out his clothes from any wrinkles the fight might've caused. "Come now, Draco. We have more important business to attend to elsewhere." He took one final look at the Weasley's before briskly walking out of the store.

Hermione found Ginny once they were all outside. "Hello, I'm Hermione. You must be Ron's little sister, Ginny." Ginny nodded shyly but didn't say anything. "I just wanted to let you know that what you did for Harry in there was very brave of you. I'm sure Harry is very grateful."

"I just didn't like the way he was talking to him. Harry clearly doesn't like the attention. He didn't ask for any of this," Ginny said.

Hermione was stunned. Little, shy, quiet, Ginny was quite protective of Harry. It was quite cute. "You're very right. Harry can't stand to be the center of attention," Hermione chuckled, and after a bit, Ginny relaxed.

"You know, Hermione, you're the first of my brother's friends actually to talk to me. Everybody always thinks I'm too young to have around. You seem lovely."

"Thank you, Ginny, that means a lot to me," Hermione smiled. "You're pretty nice yourself. If you need someone to help you around your first year, I'd be more than happy to help. I have to go now, but I'll see you at school," she gave Ginny a hug and Ginny thanked her.

Hermione turned to find her parents, "Don't mind them they're just an old wealthy wizard family who thinks they're better than everyone else. Nothing they said is true. Let's just get out of here. I think I have everything I needed to get today. Thank you for bringing me here. Let's go home now."

The Grangers said their goodbyes to the Weasley's and parted ways. They walked back to the Leaky Cauldron and straight through back into Muggle London. All three of them let out a breath they didn't even know they were holding. Today turned out to be much more stressful than they ever planned it to be. Hermione was excited to go home after the exhausting day they had and practically ran to the car parked on the other side of the street. The ride home was rather quiet for the most part until Mr. Granger spoke a little before they arrived at home.

"Your friends seem nice. I can see what you see in them. That blonde-haired boy was a bit rude, though. Suppose he takes after his father. That man needs a reality check. He had a very skewed sense of right and wrong."

"I suppose Draco does get it from his father. He's not our friend he's just some mean kid that nobody likes. He is very much like his father. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, isn't that what you always say, Dad?"

"Right you are, Sweetie. Right you are, indeed."

They pulled up to the house, and everybody tiredly climbed out of the car and up the steps into the house.

"Today has me completely knackered. I think I'm just going to go to bed," Hermione yawned proving her exhaustion.

"Alright, Honey. I'll save some dinner for you in case you change your mind. Good night, Pumpkin," Hermione's dad gave her a hug before she made her way upstairs.

"'Night, Mum and Dad."

She quickly changed into her pajamas and settled in beneath the covers. Today was a successful day, and it made her that much more excited for the upcoming school year as if she wasn't excited already. A chance to learn was always a source of excitement to her. She fell asleep to dreams of her favorite classes.

 **Again, I hope you like it so far. If so feel free to leave a review. Speaking of which thank you so much SB Potterhead Budgie Lover for the very first review on this story! Totally made my day!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express

**A/N: I'm quite surprised I'm actually sticking with writing this story. I'm thrilled with it so far. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the things you recognize.**

 _ **Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express**_

The next couple weeks Hermione spent as much time as she could with her parents until she had to leave for the school year, and wouldn't be back until Christmas. The brunette always missed her parents when she went to school, but she was excited to get back and learn more about magic. Sometimes her first year felt like a dream when Hermione would wake up back at home that summer. A dream she never wanted to wake up from, but it wasn't a dream at all.

The day eventually came for her to go back and she was so excited to see her friends again. She ran all around her room packing all of her things she would need for the next school year. All of her books and supplies were stacked nicely on her bed along with her clothes that were neatly folded. She was so enthralled in what she was doing that she didn't even hear her dad knock on the door and make his way in.

"Hey, Kiddo, you got everything you need for tomorrow?" she jumped at the sound of his voice pulling her out of her thoughts. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I thought you heard me come in," he chuckled, and she watched as he sat down on the only available space on her bed. A few things knocked over onto the floor from the shift in weight. He picked up the necklace he had gotten her for her birthday last year. He sat there staring at it for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm just finishing now. I just have to figure out where I'm going to put it all."

"I'm sure we have some more bags downstairs if you can't fit it all in that one."

"Thanks, Dad, I'll be sure to grab one. I'm sure you didn't come all the way up here just to tell me that. What's on your mind?"

Mr. Granger looked up at his daughter that just seemed to keep growing up right before his eyes. "You know, you remind me of your mother. Always straight to the point, that one," he smiled to himself. "You're turning into quite the young woman. One that I am very proud of…I hope you know that."

"Of course, I do, Dad. Though, where is this coming from?"

"Last year while you were gone I missed you regularly," he put the necklace back down on the bed. "Having you so far away and I'm not right there able to protect you has been extremely hard for me," he stood up and walked over to Hermione. "You're the only child that I have, and I worry about you," Mr. Granger hugged her tightly. "I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much, and nothing would ever change that," he pulled away enough to look at her. "Not even being a witch," he joked.

They both smiled as Hermione wiped a tear that had escaped down her face. "Thanks, Dad, I missed you a lot while I was gone last year, too. It was the first time that I had been away for an extended period of time. At times, I wondered if I had made the right decision by going there. It seemed like nobody liked me and I didn't have anyone to go to. At least, not until I became friends with Harry and Ron. They weren't the nicest at first, but they are great friends. They protect me while I'm there. No need to worry," she left out the part about what happened with Voldemort. He didn't need a reason to be more worried than he obviously already was.

"I'm glad you can count on them to look out for you. It eases my mind a bit to know you have people there who care about you. I want you to promise me that if anything ever happens that you let me know as soon as you can. I need to know that if anything were ever to happen that I would be able to help you in any way that I can."

"Of course, you and Mum will be the first ones to know."

Mr. Granger headed to the door hovering near the entrance. "Thank you. Oh, and one last thing, if any boys try any funny business with you I want to know about it."

"Dad! I can assure you no boys are going to be trying any 'funny business.'"

"Even so, I know how boys are. Please just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise."

Mr. Granger walked out leaving Hermione to finish packing. When she was satisfied that she hadn't left anything out, she allowed herself to relax on her bed. She was so tired that she ended up falling asleep in her regular clothes.

The next morning Hermione woke up extra early to make sure everything was ready. She took a shower and changed into new clothes. The sun was still making its way into the sky when she walked back into her room. The light that was streaming in through her room was blinding her. She grabbed all of her bags and brought them downstairs to set them by the door. Her dad was out getting the car ready for the trip to King's Cross. As Hermione walked back upstairs, she heard her Mum call out for breakfast. She grabbed her wand and a few other things before walking back down. The smell of blueberry pancakes and bacon made its way to her nose as the girl sat down for breakfast. They ate as fast as they could, and before she knew it, they were on their way. Once at the station, Hermione had to say her goodbyes before making her way onto the platform nine and three-quarters since muggles couldn't make it through the barrier. She hugged both of her parents one final time before she turned to cross the barrier.

"See ya, Kiddo. Remember, any funny business, any at all."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dad, I remember."

"We love you. Write to us as soon as you get to school, alright?" Mrs. Granger said.

"I will."

She crossed the barrier and made her way over to the train. There was no sign of the Weasley's yet, and there were only twenty minutes before they were supposed to board the train. She sat down on a nearby bench and watched the family's saying their goodbyes, already missing her parents.

Checking the clock for what felt like the hundredth time Hermione scanned the crowd of families for one redheaded bunch. There were only ten minutes before the train was supposed to leave. She couldn't believe that they were about to miss the train. She brought her bags onto the train and tried to find a compartment that didn't already have someone sitting in it. She didn't want to deal with people right that minute. She found one toward the back of the train and put her bags on the rack above the seats. She grabbed out a copy of Voyages with Vampires one of Lockhart's books and started reading. Just before the train started moving, she heard the compartment door open and looked up from her book. Thinking it was the boys she was ready to scold them until she saw Ginny looking shy as ever just standing in the doorway.

"Hello, Hermione. I don't know if you remember me, Ron's little sister," Ginny talked with her head down. "I was supposed to sit with Ron since I don't know anybody else, but I can't find him anywhere. Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Not at all," Hermione said as she marked her spot in her book and set it down beside her. "Of course, I remember you. I couldn't find him either," Ginny visibly calmed and made her way to the other side of the compartment. "I thought maybe he and Harry would miss the train. They weren't with you?"

"Thank you!" Ginny set her bags on top and sat down across from her. "They were right behind us when we came through the barrier, but somehow we lost them after we crossed."

"Something tells me they're doing something they shouldn't be. I wouldn't be surprised if those two got in trouble the first day of being back," she shook her head like a disapproving parent. "Anyway, enough about them. How are you? Are you excited to start your first year at Hogwarts?"

"I am!" She said enthusiastically. "Ever since my oldest brother, Bill, got his letter I had been dreaming of the day I would get mine. Of course, since I'm the youngest I had to wait for everybody to get theirs first. Last year I was the only one still at home, and the house was eerily quiet."

"That must've been hard for you watching everyone leave while you still had to stay. How many brothers do you have?"

"Seven brothers - I'm the only girl. There's Bill, the one I was just telling you about. He works as a curse breaker for Gringotts. He made my parents proud by becoming a prefect and eventually Head Boy. Then there's Charlie. He was a prefect, too, and Quidditch Captain for the Gryffindor team. After Hogwarts, he moved to Romania to study dragons, so I don't get to see him very much, anymore. Next, there's Percy. He's the oldest one that still goes to Hogwarts. He's a prefect right now and never lets anyone forget it. He hopes to one day become the Minister for Magic. Suppose that's why he keeps himself locked in his room most of the time. Doesn't want anyone to disturb his studies. Anyway, after Percy comes Fred and George. I'm sure you already know who they are. Everybody knows who they are. Always causing some sort of trouble with their new tricks. They're also beaters on the Quidditch team. One day I hope to get on the Quidditch team. It looks like so much fun! Anyway, last but not least, Ron. I'm not sure what he wants to do yet. He's obsessed with the professional Quidditch team, the Chudley Cannons. You should see his room. It looks like the team threw up in there. I've never seen so much orange in my life."

Hermione couldn't believe how much shy little Ginny was talking. Ron was right; when she's not around Harry, she can talk for hours. It's actually quite cute how much she likes Harry. "It's nice to know more about your family. Ron doesn't talk much about your older brothers."

"I suppose that's probably because he misses them too much. He doesn't like to admit his feelings very often. He'd rather pretend that the issues don't exist. I can tell how much he missed them when they do come home, though. Especially Charlie…Ron looks up to him. They used to be incredibly close."

"Poor Ron, I wish he'd be more open about things. Does Ron at least write to Charlie when he's not there?"

"He used to, but Charlie would get so wrapped up in his work that most of the time he wouldn't even respond until eventually Ron just gave up."

Hermione noticed the trolley with the sweets go by the compartment door. "Ginny, would you like anything from the trolley, my treat?"

"Thanks, but I'm not hungry right now," Ginny replied.

Hermione got up and bought some licorice wands and chocolate frogs for her and Ginny, anyway. She returned and gave Ginny some of the treats which Ginny quickly ate. Hermione laughed and bit into her licorice wand. "I thought you weren't hungry?"

"I wasn't really, at least not until I had food in front of me."

"Must be a Weasley thing," Hermione smiled at her.

They talked comfortably amongst each other like old friends for the next couple hours. The train came to a stop at Hogsmeade station a little while later. Hermione had to wake Ginny up who had fallen asleep on her shoulder not too long ago.

"Hey Ginny," she nudged the young girl. "Ginny wake up we've arrived at the station," Ginny grumbled but made no sign of moving. "Ginny I can't move until you wake up." She slowly sat up and looked around groggily. Her eyes got big once she realized she had fallen asleep on her new friend.

"Hermione, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep on you like that," Her face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet.

"It's alright; I didn't mind. Gave me some time to read Gilderoy Lockhart's book," she held it up for Ginny to see. "Isn't he just wonderful?"

"You sound like my Mum," Ginny laughed. They grabbed their bags and walked off the train.

"Firs' years this way! O'er here firs' years!" Hagrid called.

"Ginny, you have to go with Hagrid now for the sorting ceremony. I hope you get sorted into Gryffindor! How great would it be if we were in the same house? Even if you're not, though, you'll still be my friend. Good luck, I'll see you later!" With that, Ginny walked off to stand with the rest of the first years.

Hermione looked around for any sign of Ron or Harry. When almost everybody had moved along, and she still didn't see them, she gave up and made her way up to Gryffindor tower and straight through to the girls' second-year dormitories. She unpacked all of her things and went back down to the common room to wait for Harry and Ron. The ceremony was supposed to start in fifteen minutes.

She waited for ten minutes before heading down to the Great Hall. Whatever they were up to she wanted no part of it. She sat down at the Gryffindor table just in time for Dumbledore to stand up ready to start his speech. The hall immediately quieted down anticipating the feast that was to take place after the ceremony.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. For those who don't know me, I am Professor Dumbledore the Headmaster of this school. Shortly, we will begin our Sorting Ceremony for the first years followed by our beginning of the year feast. Before we begin, I would like to remind the students of the forbidden areas surrounding school grounds; this includes Hogsmeade. For anyone third year and above if you wish to attend Hogsmeade you must have gotten a form signed by a parent or guardian permitting you to leave school grounds for the scheduled weekends. Anyone who does not have a form signed will not be able to attend Hogsmeade weekends. For the rest of you, under no circumstances will you be able to leave the premises.

"Now let's begin the Sorting Ceremony – first years, if you would, make your way up to the front please." The first years who had been patiently waiting at the back of the Great Hall shuffled toward the front in a single file line. Hermione stopped paying attention when she noticed Harry and Ron still weren't there. She was starting to get worried that something had happened to them. There's no way they would miss the feast. Her brain was coming up with all sorts of crazy things that could've happened to them. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Ginny's name.

"Ginevra Weasley!" Ginny walked up to the seat and sat down. McGonagall placed the sorting hat on her head. Ginny looked so nervous sitting up there. Hermione knew every single one of her brothers had been sorted into Gryffindor. She figured Ginny would be worried about possibly not being sorted into the same house as the entire rest of her family. Hermione was chanting Gryffindor in her head, and it felt like forever until the hat made its decision.

"Better be…Gryffindor!"

Ginny looked so relieved Hermione was so happy for her. She made a mental note never to let Ron hear the end for missing his only sister's sorting ceremony. Ginny walked over and sat next to Hermione who immediately gave her a hug and a little 'Welcome to Gryffindor!' A little while later the ceremony was over, and the feast began.

"Have you seen Ron or Harry? I'm a little bummed he missed my sorting."

"No I haven't, but he better have a seriously good reason. I'm so disappointed in him."

After the feast was over, they walked to Gryffindor tower together. Hermione showed Ginny how to use the password to get into the common room and where her dormitory was.

"Congratulations again on making Gryffindor. Your family will be so proud. Sorry Ron couldn't make it. I promise you I will make him regret it. Get some sleep now it's been a long day." Hermione hugged Ginny and promised her she would let her know as soon as she found out why Ron and Harry hadn't been there.

Hermione couldn't express her worry about if anything had possibly happened to the boys. She had been through enough already. The brunette would make sure there was actually something to worry about before worrying the younger girl. She walked up the stairs to the second-year girls' dormitory, quickly changed into her pajamas, and got ready for bed. Once her teeth were brushed, and her face was washed she climbed into bed and tried to fall asleep. Instead, she laid there for hours worrying about Harry and Ron. Finally, she was able to fall asleep and had the worst night's sleep she had in a very long time.

 **A/N: Me again! If you like this story so far, please leave a review and favorite/follow. It would mean so much to me! Also, I wrote this at 3 am so if there are any mistakes I apologize, and please let me know. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Great Hall

**After being gone for a 5-month hiatus, I'm back hopefully cranking out more chapters of this story for you guys. Hope you like it and feel free to give me any constructive criticism or any kind of feedback you might want to leave. Also, be sure to favorite and follow this story if you'd like me to keep going with this story. Thanks for checking out my story!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.**

 _ **Chapter 4: The Great Hall**_

Hermione woke up the next morning with a slight headache. Those boys were going to be the death of her. Not only are they missing but they might even get expelled for the stunt they pulled at the Dursley's. They did need to learn to be more careful. She stood out of her bed and mindlessly searched through her drawers for her school robes.

Once she had gathered everything she would need, she padded out her door and down the hall to the girls' lavatory. She found an unoccupied shower, turned the water as hot as it would go, and got undressed before getting into the steaming shower. She let the hot water wash away the sleep from her eyes as well as her worries from the night before. The sound of a sobbing girl enveloped her magnifying off the stone walls. She didn't know if she should help the girl or pretend that she didn't hear anything. She heard another sob and decided to get out and see what was wrong. She wrapped the towel around herself and opened the curtain looking around for the source of the sounds. Curled up in the corner with her head tucked between her knees was Ginny Weasley. Hermione rushed to Ginny's side and kneeled down beside her.

"Oh Gods, Ginny! Are you okay? What's wrong?" She had an idea what was going on but thought it best to let the younger girl get it all off her chest.

"Oh Hermione, I didn't know it was you in here. I came in here early this morning, so the other girls didn't have to see me like this. I hate when people see me cry. It's probably stupid for me to be crying, anyway."

"Ginny, if something is bothering you enough for you to cry then naturally it means something to you. Therefore, it can't be stupid."

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm just feeling anxious about Ron. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost him." Hermione wrapped her arms around the young girl as she buried her face in Hermione's neck. She started sobbing again, but Hermione continued holding her rubbing her back until the redhead stopped shaking and the sobs got quieter, eventually stopping altogether.

"I'll tell you what...how about you come with me to the Great Hall after I finish in the shower, and we can find out if they have any more news, okay?"

"Thank you so much, Hermione. Sorry I interrupted your shower by the way."

"It's okay, Ginny. I just want to help any way I can. Just let me finish up real quick, and we'll go, okay?" Ginny nodded, and Hermione went to finish her shower.

Once Hermione was done with her shower she went to the first-year girls' dormitory to get Ginny before heading to the Great Hall for breakfast. "Alright, Ginny, are you ready?" Ginny nodded but still looked a bit nervous, so Hermione tried to ease the other girl's mind as they walked. "I'm sure there's nothing to be afraid of Ginny. They probably just snuck off to do what any boy their age would do. Quite frankly I don't want to know half the things those boys get up to when I'm not around."

The younger girl couldn't help but chuckle at their expense. She knew all too well what they did when the responsible one of the trio wasn't there. "You're right you wouldn't want to know. Sometimes I'm surprised they're still alive. Thanks for being so sweet to me, Hermione. I know you're my brother's friend, and you don't have to, but I'm happy that you are. You and Harry aren't like his other friends; they usually make fun of me. Ron does his best to stick up for me, but they're his friends, so there's not much he can do.

"No problem, Ginny. You'll be making your own friends soon enough, don't worry. I'll even be your friend if you want."

"Thanks, that means a lot to me, but I'm not sure how Ron would feel about that. You were his friend first, and he'd probably see it as me taking you away from him. So, for now, I think I'll just stick to making new friends, but maybe someday we can be friends depending on how Ron feels about it."

"I understand that, and I'll be here if you ever need anything. For now, let's just make sure Ron and Harry are okay." They stepped into the Great Hall and made their way over to the Gryffindor table. As they approached the table a head full of fiery red hair caught Ginny's eye and she ran over to Ron, nearly knocking him over as she tackled him with a hug. Hermione was relieved to see him and Harry sitting there alive, but she needed some answers.

"Where in the world have you two been? You've had Ginny here, and I worried sick. Don't get me wrong I'm glad to see you two are alive and not lying in a ditch somewhere. Seeing as you weren't on the train how did you two get here? And you, Ron, what was so important that you had to miss your sister's sorting ceremony? Did you even think about how much that would upset her? She looks up to you, and you let her down. Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?

Ron gulped and spluttered for any coherent sentence that could begin to explain what happened the night before. He had no idea how he was going to be able to get out of this one. Ron felt terrible for missing Ginny's ceremony. He wouldn't be surprised if she were incredibly mad at him for what he had missed. He was supposed to be the big brother she could look up to but now wouldn't even look him in the eye. Harry took this chance to speak up on Ron's behalf.

"You can choose whether you believe me on this, but I'm going to tell you the story, anyway. At King's Cross, right after Ginny crossed the barrier to the platform, Ron and I tried to cross over, but the barrier was sealed. We might a right fool of ourselves crashing into a brick wall, but thankfully I don't think any muggles saw us. We still had five minutes until the train was supposed to leave so we have no idea why we couldn't get in. We had to borrow the Weasley's flying car all the way to Hogwarts, following the train. Once we got to Hogwarts, we flew straight into a massive tree that seemed to have a mind of its own. The car got stuck, and the tree began beating up the car with its branches while we were still in the car."

"Look at what the bloody tree did to my wand!" Ron held up his wand barely held together with spello-tape. "It's broken in half, what am I supposed to do now? No way mom and dad are going to let me get a new wand. I'm done for!"

"Ronald!" Hermione took Ron's wand from him and thoroughly examined it. "Using a broken wand could be very dangerous. You're going to have to get a new one eventually. There's no way that thing is going to work properly. How could you guys be so careless? Do you know how much trouble you guys could be in? Did any muggles see you?

"Calm down, Hermione." He snatched his wand out of Hermione's hands. "I don't have the means of getting a new wand right now, so this will just have to do until I can get a better one. As for the whole getting to Hogwarts situation, there wasn't anything else we could do. And yes, unfortunately, we were spotted by some muggles, but the ministry is going to fix that. Snape wanted us expelled for it, and honestly, we probably should've been, but Dumbledore decided to let us off with a warning. We were seriously lucky to get out of it the way we did, not to mention nearly getting killed by that tree. The year just began, and I've already had enough adventure to last me the rest of the school year."

"Well hopefully you two have learned your lesson, and you won't be doing anything else idiotic to get yourselves killed.

A chubby, round-faced Gryffindor boy called Neville Longbottom sat down next to Harry across from Ron and Ginny, who was hiding behind Ron and staying deathly quiet, probably afraid of speaking in front of Harry and making a fool of herself. Neville immediately started loading his plate with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, muffins, toast, and anything else he could get his little stubby hands on. He took a huge bite of a blueberry muffin before he spoke, "mail's due any minute now. I think Gran's sending me a few things I forgot."

Sure enough, over a hundred owls made their way through the hall finding their owners to deliver their mail. Something large and gray fell right in front of Hermione knocking her food everywhere.

"Errol!" Ron pulled his old, unconscious family owl off Hermione's plate. It slumped on the table unmoving with a red envelope in its beak. Ron's eyes went wide. "Oh, no…she sent me a howler."

"My Gran sent me a howler once. You should probably open it right away. I didn't open mine and let's just say very terrible things happened," Neville said.

Ron looked around to everyone at the table hoping someone would tell him he didn't have to open it. He sat there for what seemed like an eternity trying to muster up the courage to open it.

"What's a howler?" Harry awkwardly asked. Being raised in the muggle world left Harry with a lot of questions that were for the most part common knowledge to regular magic folk. Times like this left him feeling a little embarrassed at what little he knew about the world he now lived in. Thankfully he was surrounded by people who were understanding and more than willing to explain even the simplest of things without making him feel like he was any less than them. Of course, there were still the obnoxious slimy serpents of Slytherin that taunted him occasionally. Though, they never really seemed to get to Harry.

Before he could get a response, though, the howler was opened, and a loud screech was released sounding throughout the hall as the envelope transfigured itself into a paper mouth. Everyone went silent, and all eyes were on Ron as the paper mouth floated into the air and took on Molly Weasley's voice echoing off the stone walls. Not a single person wasn't able to hear the angry words of the bewildered mother.

"—STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE— "

With every word, Ron sank lower in his seat wishing he could be anywhere else right then. He could only imagine what the other people would say to him after all of this was over.

"—LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED— "

Ginny looked like she could die of mortification. Why did her brother have to do something so stupid? Now everyone would know her as the sister of the boy who was so reckless that his mum had to yell at him even when he was away at school. It was bad enough with the twins getting into trouble but now with Ron heading in the direction he's going the Weasley name will be thought of as troublemakers. Ginny was nothing like her brothers and hoped this wouldn't make her teachers hate her before even taking the time to get to know her.

"—ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED — YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

With those last words, the howler fell back to the table and burst into flames. Silence fell onto the room as no one dared speak after what had just happened. Ron was shaking as he sat frozen in fear. He knew his parents would've found out eventually and he would be punished for what they did but didn't think it would be so soon nor did he think he would be so publicly humiliated. Moments later the Slytherin table erupted in laughter and applause at Ron's expense. Ginny stood up and took one look at her brother before, without saying a word, walked away towards the exit of the Great Hall. Gradually, the conversation began again, and Ron was pulled from his thoughts when Hermione spoke.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron, but you— "

"Don't tell me I deserved that," snapped Ron. "I know what I did was wrong, but she didn't need to humiliate me in front of the entire school."

"Ron, your father could lose his job from what you did," Hermione pointed out. "Don't you think that you deserve at least a little bit of that?"

"Oh, what do you know about it, goody-two-shoes?" Ron shot back. "You've probably never done anything bad in your life. You're like the perfect child. Sorry, we can't all be like you."

With that, Ron shot up out of his seat and directed his attention to Harry. "Are you coming or what, mate?"

"Come on; we should get to class, anyway." Harry turned to Hermione as Ron started to walk away, still fuming." Hermione reluctantly stood up. Harry trailed behind with Hermione so Ron couldn't hear what he was saying. "Don't listen to what he said. I'm not sure why he's acting this way but what he said to you was uncalled for."

"Harry, you don't have to apologize on Ron's behalf," Hermione assured him. "Ron is responsible for his own actions and words. He'll learn that those words have consequences soon enough. You can't treat people like that and expect them to stick around. I understand that he's going through a tough time right now, but you have to admit he brought it upon himself."

"Yeah, you're right," Harry agreed. "I guess I'm just feeling pretty guilty about my part in all this. I feel terrible for all the trouble we caused Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, especially since Mr. Weasley could lose his job. If he did, I don't think I would ever be able to forgive myself."

"You can't take all the blame, Harry. Yeah, what you two did was rather reckless and dumb, but take this as a learning experience. Let me guess this was Ron's brilliant idea?"

"For the most part, yes. Ron did think of it, but I didn't necessarily say no. For that, I'm just as much to blame."

"You may be at fault, but you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. Next time Ron has another one of his brilliant plans stop and think about what the consequences could be if it were to go wrong. You don't have to go along with everything that he says."

Harry hung his head in defeat. "You're right. I just don't know what to do. It seems I'm always getting into trouble these days, but, on the other hand, Ron is my best mate," Harry explained. Hermione knew Harry was struggling in the friend department. Besides herself, Ron is practically his only other friend.

"Don't worry about it too much, Harry. You'll figure it out soon. Take the next few days to think about it more. Though, now is not the time. I'm afraid we've arrived at our first lesson. Try not to think about it too much for right now; wouldn't want you to miss anything. This man is an absolute genius." Luckily, first on the schedule was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the infamous Gilderoy Lockhart. It looks like Hermione's day was about to take a turn for the better.

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